Move over Angelina Jolie and Kate Moss. Women's role models are engaged in altogether more serious pursuits far removed from the glossy pages of celebrity magazines, according to a new survey.

When YouGov and AOL UK asked women to name their most influential woman, not a single pop star or supermodel made the top 10 and the only actor was Joanna Lumley (at number seven), known recently as much as for her campaigning for Gurkhas' rights as for her career on the screen.

Topping the list was Margaret Thatcher, whose handbags are of a more sober variety than those favoured by the likes of Moss, who finished joint bottom of the list of 25 icons that women picked from. Thatcher attracted 31% of votes, while Moss got just 1%.

While those surveyed voted Thatcher as the most influential woman, only 2% wanted to swap lives with her. When asked who they would most like to be, 26% of women chose Harry Potter author JK Rowling.

Asked to choose words that described what made women influential, 62% cited commitment, which was the most popular answer, just ahead of hard-working (60%). Intelligence was next, chosen by 46% of respondents, with prettiness cited by just 2%.

Just under half (49%) of women who responded said there were not enough modern day role models, compared to 35% who said there were.

Beverley Skeggs, a sociologist at Goldsmiths College, London, said the results of the research, carried out for mydaily.co.uk, showed a disconnection between what women value and what the media feeds them.

"It's clear from the research that qualities such as intelligence and independence are highly regarded when it comes to women's perceptions of wellbeing, while women promoted solely on the basis of appearance are largely disregarded by a nation who want to see their role models do something with their lives," she said.

"However, we are still bombarded with images of women that we neither aspire to emulate nor that connect to our lives in any significant way, begging the question, when will public culture catch up with what women want?"

The online survey was carried out among 2,048 people aged 16 and over.

Director Phyllida Lloyd proved, with Mamma Mia!, that there was a massive audience for female-led films. Now for the next challenge: helping Meryl Streep bring Thatcher to the screen in The Iron Lady. By Kira Cochrane